Juan Martin Hernandez has announced his retirement from professional rugby in an interview with Midi Olympique.

The Argentina playmaker, 35, who shot to fame at the 2007 Rugby World Cup, has been advised to hang up his boots due to a knee injury suffered while playing for the Jaguares against the Reds on March 17.

"The cruciate ligaments aren't affected but it's very painful and the demands of Super Rugby don't allow me to play in this competition diminished. So I've decided to stop playing rugby. There you go, it's finished," he said.

Asked if he could play again for Deportiva Francesca, his first club in Buenos Aires, he said: "Well, for fun, I can go jogging from time to time with the Depo. But frankly, I don't know. We'll see how my knee will be after rehab."

Hernandez finishes his career with 74 caps for Argentina, having represented Los Pumas at three World Cups. He spent most of his career in France, playing for Stade Francais, Racing 92 and Toulon, but also enjoyed a brief spell with South African side Sharks in 2009, and returned home to represent the Jaguares in Super Rugby two years ago.

"First of all I'll take six months off for me and my children. I'm going to be a normal father, taking the little ones to school in the morning and collecting them in the evening," he said

"If in one year I am missing rugby, I will ask if I can be useful in some way or another for an Argentinian team. Pumitas, and others. We will have to see"